Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Prosecutors from the Directorate for Investigating the Organized Crime and Terrorism –Territorial office Constanta have dismantled a criminal organized group specialized in computer fraud, and fraudulent operations with electronic payment instruments. The prosecutors are investigating 25 de defendants for constituting a criminal organized group, violation of art.7, Law 39/2003, counterfeiting electronic payment instruments, violation of art.24 al.2 Law 365/2002, conducting fraudulent financial operations, violation of art.27 al.1, 2 and. 3 Law 365/2002, for modifying without authorization computer data, violation of art.48 Law 161/2003 and for money laundering, violation of art.23 al.1 lit.b Law 656/2002.

Starting with October 2009, the defendants realized fake WebPages, clones of the WebPages of Bank of America and other banking institutions. They mass emailed links to these fake pages to users, customers of the targeted financial institutions.

These pages contained a fake warning to cancel or restrict the access and asking the customers to complete a form with personal information such as name, DOB, address, phone number, SSN, card number, expiring date, CVV2, pin code, etc.

After completion, the form was automatically transmitted to an email box especially created for this reason. The collected stolen private users information have been used by the suspects to initiate fraudulent Western Union online transfers from the accounts of foreign citizens.

The defendants have introduced in the Western Union computers used to conduct the online payment transactions, fake computer data having as result financial transfers from the bank accounts of US citizens. The money from the fraudulent transfers were picked up from Western Union offices from Constanţa, Viena – Austria, Munchen – Germania and Praga – Czech Republic.

Also the defendants distributed to other suspects the stolen private information to be also used in fraudulent financial operations.

On 10 Mai 2010 have been executed 36 search warrants, 2 in Bucharest, 32 in Constanta county and 2 in Harghita county. The police seized numerous computers and media devices.

27 persons have been brought at DIICOT –Teritorial office Constanta. la sediul D.I.I.C.O.T. – Serviciul Teritorial Constanţa. The operation have been conducted with the support of DGIPI and together with police officers from I.G.P.R. - D.C.C.O., B.C.C.O. Bucureşti, B.C.C.O. Constanţa, S.C.C.O. Harghita şi S.C.C.O. Buzău and officers from B.S. I. J. Vlad Ţepeş, 300 officers in total. The operation has been realized with the assistance of the US Secret Service agents from the US Embassy.